Safety Management Lax at Men's Professional Golf Tournament Held in Jeju

On the First Day of the Competition, a Cart Greeting Accident... Concerns Over Traffic Congestion at the Venue Entrance Intersection

The Korea Professional Golf Tour SK Telecom Open golf tournament was held over four days starting on the 16th at Pinx Golf Club in Seogwipo, Jeju, but concerns have been raised about lax safety management.

The ‘SK Telecom Open 2024’ is taking place from the 16th to the 19th under the slogan “Together Green, Happy Companionship” at the East and West courses (par 71, 7,326 yards) of Pinx Golf Club in Seogwipo, Jeju. This is the 27th edition of the tournament.

A total of 144 players, including K.J. Choi, are competing in this major domestic men’s professional golf tournament, which offers a total prize fund of 1.3 billion KRW and a winner’s prize of 260 million KRW.

On the first day of the 'SK Telecom Open 2024' golf tournament on the 16th, a cart accident occurred, and the police who arrived at the scene are assessing the situation.

However, despite the large scale and status as a major tournament, several concerns about basic safety have been raised since the first day of the event.

On the first day of the tournament, around noon, a golf cart going downhill struck a female gallery visitor who had come to watch the tournament, prompting an emergency 119 ambulance to rush her to Seogwipo Medical Center for urgent care.

The cart driver was identified as a caddie affiliated with Pinx Golf Club, serving as a fore caddie who checks the ball ahead on the course during the competition.

According to the police, the injured female gallery visitor was transported to Seogwipo Medical Center and received emergency treatment.

The police stated that they have officially registered the incident as a case and plan to investigate the cause of the accident.

In addition, there are lurking risks of safety accidents at the tournament entrance.

Vehicles are parked on both sides of the entrance road to Pinx Golf Club in Seogwipo, where the 'SK Telecom Open 2024' is being held.

The entrance road to Pinx Golf Club, where the tournament is held, is close to the road leading to the nearby L Resort, which may cause confusion for first-time gallery visitors trying to find the Pinx Golf Club tournament venue.

Moreover, this section is congested every time the tournament is held due to selfish gallery visitors trying to park as close as possible to the venue.

This congested area requires strengthened safety control, but this tournament has only provided a gallery parking lot near the golf course entrance, and with many visitors expected on the weekend, it is pointed out that thorough safety measures are necessary.

In 2019, during a women’s professional tournament, a collision occurred about 400 meters from the entrance of this access road between a 1.5-ton truck and a passenger car, resulting in both vehicles being severely damaged and one person hospitalized.

Meanwhile, in Jeju, two days earlier on the 14th, a golf cart accident occurred at a golf course in Namwon-eup where a cart fell into a pond, resulting in the death of a person in their 50s. Following this, the occurrence of a cart accident at this major tournament has drawn particular concern and attention to golf course safety.

Jeju = Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Chang-won yjm3070@asiae.co.kr